Our Red Oak

Many trees were planted during Arbor Day last week which is good. While it doesn't get the National Publicity it does in Nebraska because of having been started by J. Sterling Morton, while a Nebraska City newspaper editor, it is recognized nationally.  Morton was appointed Secretary of Agriculture during President Cleveland's administration. He promoted coordinated services to farmers as well as encouraging the National Forest Preserves. I believe the Arch walkway over Independence Avenue which connects the South Agriculture Building with the Administration Building is named in his honor. (check it out Jon). His son Joy Morton started the Morton Salt Company in Chicago. Pictured is a Red Oak tree we planted in our back yard in the spring of 1995. This was the way it looked during its 2nd year. It was a "scrub" tree that required "staking" and careful pruning for the first few years. It is now over a foot in diameter and some 35 feet high. We have Hosta growing at its base and have always given it plenty of water. It is amazing how fast trees will grow if they are 5-6' tall when planted as compared to those 12-14'.When Clarence and I were planting trees for Nebraska Nurseries over 50 years ago, a fellow here in Seward built a new house and wanted to show it off with 15' Pin Oak trees. We drive past them every time we go to Lincoln, and to this day, the trees have never had the "vigor" nor the size of much smaller trees planted at the same time. Some time it pays to be "Penny wise rather than pound foolish".



Elaine at Country School

Here is Miss Veronica Pape and her twenty District 28 country school students during the 1935-36 school year. Elaine had her 5th birthday a few days after she started into 1st grade. She is pictured here in the front row next to Victor with whom she went through all 8 grades as her only classmate.  Having just started to school, she was pleased to have anklets compared to the older girls with long cotton stockings. It wasn't unusual for boys to help with the farming as first priority and go to school until they reached the mandatory age of 16. And, many of those boys became very successful farmers. Victor became  a successful "Land Improvement Contractor". 

CASA Annual Gala

The picture isn't very good but was taken without a flash at the CASA Melodrama at Concordia University Thursday evening. Lloyd Schulz (far right) is reading a Proclamation from the Commissioner officially naming Seward as the County seat of Seward County. The villain had attempted to "Steal the Seat" and establish Milford as the seat of County Government. The play was written by Nick Lee, a Concordia University senior whom we have know since his being a youngster growing up in the Methodist Church. Lloyd Schulz is a veteran of Melodrama having been in several years of performances in Goehner. He played the part of a "town drunk" (commissioner) to perfection. His facial expression and timing leaves nothing in doubt. The performance followed a good dinner and a "casino" setting of predinner activities. With a couple complementary "chips", I parlayed them into a sufficient number at the roulette wheel that our table won 1st prize, which we donated back to the CASA program. It was an entertaining evening.



Gateway Computer RIP

The old Gateway Computer and Monitor are loaded in the car trunk and will be taken down to Schrock Innovations for recycling tomorrow morning. We  bought it back in early 2001 along with a scanner, printer, speakers and the whole bit. It was state of the art at that time. The whole package cost $2,832.90. It was my pride and joy for many years as I could work on digital pictures, burn CD's etc. Son Jon helped me buy a HP replacement in the fall of '07 but I still kept the Gateway in operation for many things that I didn't transfer over. It finally got down to where I had hoped that Elaine might be able to use it as a Word Processor, but even that became more of a problem. When we noticed that Schrocks were accepting old computers and monitors, we decided the time had come. It served us well.

Royals broke their losing streak

This evening, Elaine and I were among a group that toured the new Branch of Cattle Bank & Trust  in the Village Gardens area near 56th and Pine Lake Road in Lincoln. It will be the Banks 2nd Lincoln Location joining the West A Branch that has been in operation for the past 10 years. We enjoyed Dinner at the FireWorks restaurant near 87th and Old Cheney Road. And, got back home just in time to see Alex Gordon hit a 3-run home run in helping the Royals beat the Indians 8-2. Alex got 3 hits which raised his season average to 197. Billy Butler hit 2 HR's and Hosmer also got one so it was a great way to break their 12 game losing streak. Our temperature got up to 91 degrees again today but  is due to cool down tomorrow for a high in the low 70's. 

The Crow's Nest: Lilac Pruning

The Crow's Nest: Lilac Pruning: I pruned one of our Lilac bushes this after noon following my round of golf. It is a shrub that dates back to the farm where Elaine grew ...

Lilac Pruning

I pruned one of our Lilac bushes this after noon following my round of golf. It is a shrub that dates back to the farm where Elaine grew up. When her folks moved to town back in the mid-fifties, they brought a part of the plant to their house on Locust street here in Seward. When we bought this place in the early 80's we brought a start down here. It has done well over the years. I have done some pruning nearly every year but today I really worked it over. This is the ideal time to prune, right after they have bloomed. I cut out all the old wood and trimmed the tops of even some of the smaller stems. The "book" says you shouldn't take more than 1/3 of the growth while removing any stems approaching 2" in diameter. In extreme cases, it says you can cut the whole bush down to about 10 inches high. It will take about 3 years for it to bloom after that kind of drastic "butchering". We had a Lilac bush out at the farm where I grew up too. It was in the front yard near the well. Dad trimmed it one time by leaving 3-4 big stems and cutting away everything else. It looked like a small, multi-trunked tree with no foliage below about 6'. Mother wasn't pleased but it came back to be a nice bush after 3-4 years.